BILL ANALYSIS Ó
SENATE COMMITTEE ON
ELECTIONS AND CONSTITUTIONAL AMENDMENTS
Senator Benjamin Allen, Chair
2015 - 2016 Regular
Bill No: AB 363 Hearing Date: 6/30/15
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|Author: |Steinorth |
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|Version: |5/19/15 Amended |
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|Urgency: |No |Fiscal: |Yes |
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|Consultant:|Frances Tibon Estoista |
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Subject: Closing of the polls
DIGEST
Authorizes county elections officials, on Election Day, to begin
accounting and processing polling place ballots during the day,
instead of waiting until the closing of the polls. Requires
county elections officials, at least 48 hours before an
election, to notify the public of the dates, times, and places
ballot containers will be delivered and also requires the
Secretary of State (SOS) to adopt regulations addressing secure
delivery and transfer of ballots to a receiving center or
central county place.
ANALYSIS
Existing law:
1) Requires members of a precinct board to account for ballots
delivered to them by returning a sufficient number of unused
ballots to make up, when added to the number of official
ballots cast and the number of spoiled and canceled ballots
returned, the number of ballots given to them.
2) Requires members of a precinct board, as soon as the polls
are closed, to remove the voted ballots from the ballot
container and take them out of the secrecy envelopes or
detach them from the secrecy stubs. Requires the precinct
board to count the number of ballot cards in each group, and
certify the number of ballots cast on the voting roster, as
AB 363 (Steinorth) Page 2
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specified. Requires the precinct board, if there is any
discrepancy between the number of voters listed in the roster
and the number of ballots voted, to note this fact with an
explanation of the difference signed by all the members of
the precinct board.
3) Requires precinct board members to group voted ballot cards
and voted separate write-in ballots, as directed by the
elections official, and place them in containers. Requires
the board to place spoiled and void ballots, if any, in
containers as directed by the elections official. Requires
all the containers to be placed in one or more boxes and
sealed and delivered as soon as possible to the receiving
centers or central counting places with the unused ballots,
supplies, and other materials as directed by the elections
officials.
4) Prohibits the removal of a ballot container from a polling
place or the presence of any persons assembled at the polling
place until all the ballots are counted and prohibits the
ballot container from being opened until after the polls are
closed.
This bill:
Authorizes county elections officials, on Election Day, to begin
accounting and processing polling place ballots during the day,
instead of waiting until the closing of the polls.
Specifically, this bill:
1) Authorizes a precinct board, when accounting for ballots at
the closing of the polls, as specified, to either account for
the ballots at a polling place or to be performed by the
elections official at the central counting place.
2) Permits a county elections official, before the closing of
the polls instead of at the close of the polls, to direct a
precinct board to seal the ballot container and record on
forms prescribed by the elections official the information
needed for the reconciliation of ballots, as specified.
3) Allows a county elections official to direct a precinct
board to seal the ballot container prior to the closing of
the polls in accordance with existing law. Permits a county
elections official, as soon as the container is sealed, to
AB 363 (Steinorth) Page 3
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direct at least two elections officials to remove the sealed
ballot container of voted untallied ballots from the polling
place and, in the presence of any bystanders, to deliver the
container to a receiving center or central counting place as
directed.
4) Requires the elections officials, to notify the public 48
hours before election day of the dates, times and places
where ballot containers will be delivered.
5) Allows a county elections official, upon receipt of a
container at a receiving center or central counting place, to
process the voted untallied ballots, but prohibits the tally
of ballots or release of any results prior to the closing of
the polls. Provides that the procedures described shall not
be construed as relieving a precinct board of its
responsibility to account for ballots in accordance with
existing law.
6) Requires the Secretary of State (SOS) to adopt regulations
addressing the secure delivery and transfer of ballots to a
receiving center or central counting place.
7) Makes other technical changes.
BACKGROUND
Closing of the Polls Procedures : Once the polls close, existing
law requires members of the precinct board to account for
ballots delivered to them whether voted, unused, spoiled, or
canceled. This process is commonly known as ballot
reconciliation. Existing law prohibits a ballot container from
being opened until after the polls are closed and further
prohibits the removal of a ballot container from a polling place
until all ballots are counted. Once reconciliation is completed
ballot containers are allowed to be delivered to their assigned
receiving center or central counting location for processing.
COMMENTS
1) According to the author , AB 363 will improve election
efficiency by allowing for ballots to be picked up and
processed prior to the close of polls. In doing so, election
results may be reported earlier on election night, and
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counties will save taxpayer dollars by reducing overtime
costs. Further, this bill will give election officials the
option to modify current ballot reconciliation procedures in
an attempt to make them more effective and secure. Existing
law allows for absentee ballots to be processed prior to the
close of polls, however, does not treat ballots cast at a
polling place the same way. Allowing for election officials
to begin counting these ballots as well will improve the
election process.
AB 363's improved ballot reconciliation process will make
results more accurate and secure, because reconciliation will
take place in a controlled environment, under the supervision
of election professionals. If a discrepancy is found by the
elections officials, he/she has the authority to investigate
further, as opposed to poll workers who have no authority to
act upon any inconsistencies. Voters may feel more secure in
knowing that their voted ballot cannot be tampered with by
poll workers, because the ballot box will be sealed and
securely moved to the counting location without being handled
by poll workers at the polling place.
2) Greater Transparency ? Many counties, especially large
counties, encounter late reconciliation issues partly due to
the size of the county which requires elections staff to be
on the road for hours driving to remote polling places to
pick up ballot containers and then delivering them back to a
central processing location. Due to their large geographical
size, these large counties are unable to report election
night reports until late into the morning of the day after
Election Day. Moreover, while existing law requires the
reconciliation process to be open to the public, in practice,
once the polls close many individuals are not around to
monitor and ensure ballot reconciliation is done properly.
This bill, which permits the reconciliation of ballots to be
accomplished at a central counting location, may provide more
transparency by making it easier for the public to ensure
ballots are properly being handled as the ballots will be
reconciled, processed, scanned, and tabulated at the same
place at certain times throughout the election day.
RELATED/PRIOR LEGISLATION
SB 417 Stone of this session is similar to this bill, but only
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applies to counties with a geographic area of at least 2,500
square miles. SB 417 was recently referred to the Assembly
Elections and Redistricting Committee.
PRIOR ACTION
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|Assembly Floor: |78 - 0 |
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|Assembly Appropriations Committee: |17 - 0 |
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|Assembly Elections and Redistricting | 7 - 0 |
|Committee: | |
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POSITIONS
Sponsor: San Bernardino County
Support: California Association of Clerks and Election
Officials
California State Association of Counties
Rural County Representatives of California
Santa Clara County Board of Supervisors
Urban Counties Caucus
Oppose: None received
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